The Fung Wah bus has been a long time way to travel from BOS-NYC for cheap. About 5 or so years ago, many other “elite” buses were introduced to those routes, but for awhile it was the Chinatown Fung Wah or Greyhound.
The Fung Wah buses have always had ridiculous stories going along with them, most of which were never true, but fully blown out of proportion. Many say they are unsafe and in my opinion do not have the best reputation. I was always skeptical of this bus company and the pickup/drop off location was never close to convenient. With that said, many people love the Fung Wah bus so I do not want to discount that. I’ve personally never taken the Fung Wah bus, but have taken the Bolt Bus or Megabus from NYC to Boston many of times as they have free wifi and are by far nicer than Greyhound and Fung Wah. Quite honestly, the cost of the Fung Wah isn’t much less than these newer bus companies.
Quite honestly, I am not surprised that the DOT got involved and mandated that all 28 buses were to be removed from service. However, the company has not yet been put of of business and is still allowed to charter passengers from other providers. As of right now, there is no date of when Fung Wah will be resuming their service.
From Boston.com, these are the citations that Fung Wah has been faced with:
“Last month, one of its buses hit two pedestrians in Manhattan, according to news reports. In 2007, a Fung Wah bus crashed into a guardrail at the Allston-Brighton tolls, and a driver trying to change lanes wedged a bus atop a concrete barrier at the Weston toll booths. In 2006, a Boston-bound coach rolled over while rounding an interstate ramp, slightly injuring 34 passengers, and in 2005, one of its buses caught fire on a highway in Connecticut.
Fung Wah buses have been cited for 159 maintenance violations in the past two years, including 23 instances of cracked, loose, or broken frames, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Its drivers are ranked in the bottom 3 percent of drivers nationwide, based on experience and training.
Drivers have racked up a dozen speeding violations in the past two years and been cited six times for failure to speak English or operating without a commercial driver’s license, according to federal regulators.
State inspectors first discovered cracks in steering axles, motor mounts, engine cradles, and other locations in Fung Wah bus frames during a random inspection on Feb. 7. Inspectors returned over the next few weeks and found similar problems in additional buses.
If you have any Fung Wah buses booked, time to look into alternative plans!
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I traveled on Fung Wah’s Boston-NYC route all the time in grad school. Always without incident. Oh well, we have more attractive budget alternatives now.
That shitty chinese buses need to get out.
@Mike–yea, let’s take the shitty American ones, now!
Everyone I talked to in Boston was scared of the Fung Wah, but I loved it. Easy, cheap, and on time was all I needed to be happy and that’s what I got every time.
The Chinatown bus companies never truly “leave”…. they just pop up as a “new” company
That’s why all the CT bus companies have very basic and simple paint designs on their exterior – easy to re-brand on the fly
How about the other bus lines, investigate and report about their records……
@noah kimmel – nice one
I’ve done Fung Wah many times between NY-Bos. Their buses were sketchy as hell but for $15 each way you got to experience the thrill of doing 80+mph on I-95 with a driver who speaks no English recklessly swerving lanes while speaking Mandarin on his cell phone the whole way for only $15? The best part is pulling up in South Station in 3 hrs for a ride that should take 4.
They were the Southwest in the ground transportation that drove fares down and increase competition. While I don’t use their service, I appreciate their existence that greatly benefit me as a consumer
My office overlooks I-95. Amazing to watch how aggressive the Fung Wah drivers are. When I’m driving, I know to stay clear of them – pass quickly or stay way back.
I oversaw some of the litigation concerning the tragic bus accident in NYC – I value my life too much. I would never take a chinatown bus.
@andy
It didn’t have much of an effect on fares, because a huge segment of travelers wouldn’t take that bus regardless of the price
Both Fung Wah and Southwest would be classified as “no frills”…. but that’s about where the comparison between the 2 ends
What’s the difference when they will just brand a “Wung Fah” bus? or FW, or FUWA? Nothing a name change or ownership transfer can’t solve in the world, not only applied to bus lines but anywhere and definitely not exclusive to Chinese (so don’t go there!!)….
my wife and i had our first cheap travel experience with Fung Wah. We needed to get to Boston from Minneapolis. Fares to NYC were $200 cheaper. So we spent a night in Manhattan, ate fabulous Italian, had breakfast at a diner (some guy is cussing everyone out because his umbrella has been stolen- then he comes back into the diner five minutes later and retrieves said umbrella from the coat rack) and then we hop the Fung Wah to Boston. We only ended up saving $100 after expenses, but with what other bus company could you make the mistake of sitting by the bathroom that threw out such a stench because the door latch didn’t work. all for only $15!!!